Toy airship



June 24, 1930. F. J. MCBRIDE 1,765,435 7 TOY AIRSHIP Filer}. me 29, 1928 INVENT DR Patented June 24, 1930 U-NETED! STATES rarest orrice H FRED :r. MCBRIDE, F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA TOY AIRSHIP Application filed June 29,

' ship having a gas bag adapted to be charged with air or gas and providedwith a propeller,

wings, and a rudder for guiding its progress through the air. I also provide means operable by the propelling means, whereby the course of the airship is directed upwardly at the commencement of its flight and downwardly at the end thereof.

The construction is hereinafter more par ticularly described and shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the airship;

Fig. 2 a longitudinal section thereof;

Fig. 3 a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 4 a longitudinal section of the rear end thereof showing a modified construction; and

Fig. 5 a diagrammatic view showing the method of inflating the gas bag.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

1 is the gas bag of the airship, which is disposed about a central tube 2, preferably,

end of the wing and are secured beneath the 7 bag 1. A cap 2 is fitted over the front end of the central tube 2. A propeller shaft 5 of a propeller 4 is rotatably mounted in the cap 2 the shaft 5 passing through the said her band 6. When the lever is pulled fOl' -f'.

" is deflected downwardly, causing the airship 1928. Serial No. 289,094.

cap and having. a hook-shaped end 5 located within the tube 2.

A rubber band 6 is secured to the hook shaped end 5 and extends throughthe interior Of the tube 2, its other end beingse- 135 cured to a lever 7 adjacent the rear end of the tube. The lever 7 passes through an aperture 2' in either the upper or lower side of the central tube 2. A cross bar 7 secured to the end of the said lever 7, whichextends through the aperture 2 serves to'prevent the said end of the lever from slipping back into the inside of the tube 2 and acts as a fulcrum forthe lever. The other end of the lever 7 extends through a'longer aperture 2 in the other side of the central tube 2. V

A rod 8is'pivoted to this end of the lever and extends backward to an upwardly extending post 9. This post is secured to an elevating rudder 10 which is hinged to a f stabilizer 10."The rudder lO is adapted to be vertically moved so asto direct the course of the airship on a vertical plane.

A spring or rubber band 11 is secured to the lever 7 externally of the metal tube 2, and extends rearwardly to a post or lug 12 on the'tubeto which it is secured. Thisspring tends to exert a rearward pull on the lever in opposition to the forwardpull of the rubward, the rudder lO 'is deflected'upwardly,

tending to cause the airship to rise. When the lever is pulled backward, the rudder 10 to descend. 7 85 The airshipis operated in the usual man ner by rotating the propeller 4 and thus twisting the rubber band 6 until sufficient tension is obtained to' causethe propeller to I rapidly turn in the opposite direction w'hen the airship is launched. This tension tends to pull the lever 7 forward against the pressure of the spring 11, thus deflecting the rudder so that the'airship tends ,to rise. When the tension on the rubber band 6 isreduced after the ship has been in flight for some time, the spring 11 overcomes thist ensiofn and pulls'the lever backwards, thus deflecting the rudder 10 downwards and causing the ship'to descend. ,100

a bolt adapted to draw. them together and thus firmly secure the tail skid to the tube 2.

Preferably wheels 17 are secured to the under side of the braces 3 To eliminate friction, thrust bearings 18 may be provided on the propeller shaft 5.

I To overcome the propeller torque, the area of part of the wing 3 on one side of the airship is made smaller than the other side thereof; the stabilizer 10 is similarly constructed. This causes the airship to travel without the deviation which usually takes place. l

A modified construction is shown in Fig.

' 4. In this case the lever 7. extends downward- -.-the tube 2, carrying the end of ly and is provided with a hook end on which a parachute 19 is supported. When the ten from the hook and descends. The removal of this weight from the airship likewise causes the airship to descend. This construction is preferred for use with toy'airships of comparatively small, cheap construction. In this construction the elevatingrudder 10 will be rigid.

The method of inflating the airship is shown in' Fig. 5. The plug 14 is removed irom the end of the tube and likewise the lever 7. Another plug 21 is then inserted in thetube :2 and is adapted to close the end thereof and the openings 2 and 2 An inflating tube 22 is loosely fitted over the central tube and the rear end of the gas bag 1 is pulled over the .end of this inflating tube and secured thereto. Gas or air pressure is applied to the other end of the inflating tube and, as the bagis inflated, the tube 22 is gradually drawn along the bag secured thereto with it,

As'the end of the bag nears the rear end of the central tube 2 the bag is tightly tied about it and the inflating tube 22 is removed. The lever 7, and the plug 14 carrying with it the stabilizer, the vertical fin and rudder, are then placed in position and the airship prepared for flight. I

The word spring throughoutthe description and claims is used in the sense defined 1n the Practical Standard Dictionary as An elastic body orcontrivance that yields under stress is removed, and includes a rubber band.

What I claim is:

1. An airship including a gas bag; a propeller; means including a spring adapted to be tensed to rotate the propeller; a weight adjacent the rear of the airship; and means controlled by the propeller rotatingmeans for releasing the weight.

2. An airship including agas bag; a propeller; means including a spring adapted to be tensed to rotate the propeller; a lever to which one end of the rotating means is secured, said lever having a hooked end; a weight suspended on the hooked end; and spring means tending to swing the lever in the opposite direction to that in which the propelling means tends to swing it, the weight being adapted to be released when the latter spring means overcomes the ten-. sion of the propeller rotating spring.

Signed at Toront-0,Cana.da, this 9th day of June, 1928. I FRED J. LICBRIDE.

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stress and returns to its normal form when the 

